The success of Dubai’s Metro should surprise nobody.

In the middle of last year’s crises, the chat in the Emirate’s watering holes was that that the Government would economize by canceling or delaying every project in the area except the Metro. Now we get news that a few months after completion, the Metro is a roaring success; almost 3 million people used the train in its first two months of operation, while the Transit authority has leased out nearly all the commercial space in the 10 open stations. The 37 other incomplete stations are nearly fully booked also. The government will of course trumpet the wild success that this positive contribution makes to the municipality. They will cite the volume of traffic as an example that the Emirate is recovering from the recent downturn. And why not?

Harry can think of a few reasons and is thus less ready to shower the government with points. Readers may have noticed a certain aversion to absolutist rulers, and a preference that government should serve all the people, not just the most economically prosperous. Dubai provides a robust defense for this view. Plentiful censorship, a near absence of domestically generated culture, and an oversupply of 5 star hotels and shopping malls conjures up a kind of Disney-Does-The-Desert, a bizarre cross between Orlando and Kuwait City. Vanity projects proliferate at the expense of more boring, but necessary investments as the Emirate pursues the mass affluent tourist. The loser here is Joe Commuter, who gets to waste his life away in Dubai’s endless traffic. Meanwhile, the Emirate’s glitz distracts the casual traveller from the Emirate’s real asset: it is relatively more free than its neighbors. Riyadh has plenty of shopping malls, but far fewer foreign visitors. A lengthly sojourn in Saudi will convince even the most hardened rejectionist that democracy in the region is just a touch too scarce. Harry thinks the recipe for recovery calls for more freedom and less glitz.

Harry has spent a number of days mired in Dubai traffic, most of it on the eight lane ‘Sheikh Z’, the Emirate’s central artery. Piloting around the city – which was one enormous engineering project for the last seven years – invariably begged the question: why didn’t they build this earlier? The Emirate’s planners knew that congestion would be an issue; any observer of the concrete canyons that line the Sheikh Z could see that the road network would continue to suffer compounded congestion after their completion. But the Government’s focus was on flagship projects which appeal to rich people, and rich people travel by car in the Middle East. Planners were therefore not focused on mass transit. Tourists come to Dubai for the shopping, the sunshine, and the skiing  (in the Dubai mall). They don’t come because it is easy to get around the city. Businesspeople, however, have different needs and rely on excellent infrastructure to communicate and compete. One of Harry’s friends in the Emirates posits that the reason the main international flights go out at 2 am is not to allow tourists one more round of shopping but instead to make sure that they actually make the flight, such are the snarls of traffic on the road network during the day.

New York made a brave decision in 1869 to plan and build an extensive metro system far beyond what it needed at the time. Dubai has done this with local flavor, extending lines to places like Jebel Ali. Harry cannot but wonder about priorities; if the city had made rail transit an earlier focus, how much of the population’s time would have been saved? What could have been done instead of sitting in the back of a Dubai taxi attempting to improve one’s Hindi?  And then there is the environmental cost of widespread traffic jams to be considered, itself the product of an exclusively private transport system. The contract to build the metro was only awarded in 2005, suggesting a late response to an economic boom; only the absence of spaces for tracks in the central areas hints that the planners didn’t move fast enough. The Burj Dubai complex’s 3.2 million square feet of space will house more people than a small London neighborhood; it has one metro station, so you know rush hour will be fun in a few years time. More lines are planned, and this time they are going in before the developers, which is encouraging, but mass transit needs to go places people want to visit – like the center of the city.

Neglecting mass transit is the sort of planning error than only an absolute monarchy can make. When decisions are made in palaces far from the traffic jams and chaos of regular life, rulers get priorities wrong. Dubai’s apologists will point out that the Emirate is the only Arab city to actually have a working Metro; Cairo is still trying to respond to endemic congestion, while Saudi rulers have attacked Riyadh’s traffic with ostrich theory. And that closes the circle: Dubai succeeds because it is relatively better than its neighbors. Governments more in tune with the population address the community’s needs quickly – like the need for civilized commute. Harry would like Dubai to become demonstrably better than its neighbors and thinks more freedom is the answer.

Dubai local weather conditions: Fine, 22°C-28°C

After checking into my hotel and writing my initial post I headed out for my first foray into the city of Dubai. Today my destinations was the Dubai Mall (world’s largest mall), which sits near the base of the Burj Dubai (world’s tallest building). Compensating much, Sheikh Mohammed?

The Burj Dubai is an incredible achievement. At 818m tall, it is easily the tallest building in the world; in fact, there is no taller structure built by man. I found this nice comparison chart on Wikipedia that shows how tall it really is (almost double the height of the Empire State Building!).

The tower will contain over 160 floors, but much of the base is yet to be constructed, and so the tower is still a few months from opening. This still hasn’t stopped talk of building something taller.

I took a few panorama shots of the area around the Burj Dubai (thanks for letting me borrow this phone Kallum, it’s been great while I charged my Canon’s batteries). Here’s one of the panoramas:

After blowing my mind staring at the tower, I spent 5 or so hours in Dubai Mall. Most of this was spent walking past shops and getting lost. There are 4 floors packed full of stores, and it seems every brand has its own space. While there are the JB Hi Fi all-brands-in-one stores, there were also official shopfronts for brand such as Sony, Samsung, LG, Dell, Panasonic and Canon. I also saw at least 3 different Starbucks.

The mall also has a huge cinema complex (22 screens), an ice rink, an aquarium, a SEGA theme park, and a huge Wall Mart-style shopping centre. One of my favourite features of the Wall Mart wannabe was the fact that every fruit was labelled with the country it came from, just in case you wanted Australian mandarins instead of Spanish ones.

One more image to leave you with; when I finally escaped Dubai Mall it was dark, and the Burj Dubai was lit up, with large spotlights spraying out from near the top, hitting some clouds. And then I noticed that one of the clouds was getting lit from above.

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Tarde de otro siniestro, catastrófico e inexorable lunes más…

Así que para que os empanéis un poco os dejo con un impresionante time-lapse de la ciudad de Dubai… ¿Quién podría dormir con semejante cantidad de luces, afluente tráfico e incesantes obras?.

El magnífico Philip Bloom no pudo y no tuvo más remedio que ponerse a grabar desde la habitación del hotel…

Por cierto, me encanta como el viento hace “bailar” a todas esas grúas…

[Actualización]. Me acabo de topar con otro impresionante vídeo de Dubai, concretamente con uno que nos muestra la panorámica desde la punta del rascacielos Burj Dubai que, por cierto, está a punto de finalizar de su construcción…

Con sus 818 m de altura el Burj Dubai se convertirá en el edificio más alto jamás construido, aunque su reinado será efímero puesto que el proyecto de la Nakheel Harbour Tower (en la misma Dubai y con sólo 1050 metros de altura) ya ha arrancado.

  12 novembre 2009

Le Burj Dubaï est le plus haut gratte-ciel au monde depuis janvier 2009. Cette tour, située à Dubaï dans les Emirats-Arabes-Unis, en cours d’achèvement culmine à 818 mètres avec ses 162 étages et 517240 m². Elle doit former le cœur d’un nouveau quartier : Down Town Burj Dubaï. Le gratte-ciel fait partie d’un vaste projet immobilier qui comprendra de nombreux immeubles résidentiels, commerciaux et de loisirs. L’architecture de l’immeuble, dont le design est  inspiré d’une plante du Moyen-Orient, l’hymenocallis, comporte un ensemble d’étages destinés aux appartements, aux bureaux, à un hôtel et aux loisirs de tous genres. Ce projet fou a été conçu par les architectes Skidmore, Owings and Merrill pour le promoteur émiratis Emaar Properties et construit par les groupes Samsung, le Belge Besix et Arabtec. Le chantier a débuté fin 2004 pour un coût total de 1, 2 milliard de $. On prévoit son ouverture pour janvier 2010.

Ce projet monumental cache mal la réalité du terrain. En effet les promoteurs immobiliers, avides de projets, n’ont pas vu venir la crise économique. L’Emirat tente depuis une dizaine d’années d’axer l’économie locale vers le tourisme de luxe et d’affaire afin de se détourner du pétrole.  Mais le pays est touché de plein fouet par la crise du crédit qui affecte directement le secteur de la construction et de l’immobilier, en particulier celui du résidentiel. Depuis la fin de l’été 2008 les prix ont chuté de 40%. De trop nombreux projets extravagants comme “Burj Al Arab, Palm Island, The World” ont été mis sur pieds au début des années 2000 où l’économie mondiale se portait plutôt bien. Cela n’est plus le cas aujourd’hui, la baisse de l’activité économique mondiale a pour conséquences une diminution du taux d’occupation dans le secteur hôtelier, une offre plus grande que la demande sur le marché immobilier résidentiel et de bureaux. L’impact direct a pour effet de tirer les prix vers le bas ainsi que de postposer les différents projets prévus. Au niveau de l’emploi on constate un nombre croissant de licenciements dans le secteur de l’hôtellerie, de la construction et dans les agences immobilières. Pour faire face à l’éclatement de cette bulle immobilière l’Etat vole au secours des entreprises en émettant des bons au trésor pour un montant de 20 milliards de dollars afin de financer leur renflouement.

La ville de Dubaï s’est essentiellement bâtie grâce à la main d’œuvre bon marchée de milliers d’immigrés et à la manne financière que procure le pétrole. Cela a permis sa reconversion rapide vers une économie diversifiée. Malheureusement, l’origine des maux est aussi diverses. La chute du prix du baril a fort affecté les rentrées d’argent pour l’Etat qui détient la plupart du temps des parts dans les sociétés de l’Emirat. L’Emirat est  lui-même sous le contrôle de la famille régnante Al Maktoum qui occupe tous les postes influents. Les investissements de l’Etat sur la scène internationale, la spéculation abusive dans l’immobilier et la crise du crédit mondiale ont fragilisé les finances. Dans ces circonstances Dubaï a demandé l’aide de l’Emirat voisin, l’éternelle rivale Abu Dhabi, pour puiser dans son fonds souverain doté de 325 milliards de dollars grâce aux recettes pétrolières pour sauver ses entreprises.

Il est bon pour un pays de se diversifié au niveau économique afin de créer de la richesse. Mais dans ce cas-ci, les investissements ont trop été axés sur l’immobilier de luxe et d’affaire. L’Emirat de Dubaï espère toujours devenir un pôle économique et touristique majeur au niveau mondial  mais  il n’est pas le seul pays à y avoir pensé…

I arrived in Abu Dhabi at 0515 local time (1215 AEST) after a 14 hour flight. I flew Etihad, and have nothing but good things to say about the experience. The food was great, the alcohol free, and I didn’t even plug my laptop in with so many other entertainment options for entertainment options onboard.

Between meals and sleep I managed to watch 500 Days of Summer, Independence Day, and Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian (which is fucking terrible). I sat next to a Syrian-born Aussie citizen, Alex, who told me he was returning home after 20 years to visit his dying mother and try and get a share of the inheritance. He was incredibly hard to understand and was a huge pain in the ass to the flight stewards. Very amusing.

Abu Dhabi is the capital of the UAE, and I had to get a bus over to Dubai, where I’m staying. On the way I got to see much of the city, including the Burj Al Arab and the Burj Dubai (the tallest building in the world). Words cannot describe the ridiculous height of the Burj Dubai; it really is amazing, and is probably the pinnacle of human engineering.

I’ve put some choice pictures of the start of my trip below:

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So the Burj Dubai is the new tallest building in the world, it’s 160+ stories, and good lord that video is going to give me nightmares. When the station was in downtown Boston, we worked in the Pru, and I avoided all opportunities presented to me to go on top of that sucker, and that’s only 50 or so stories tall. It just freaked me out. I’ve never been all that good with heights, and this thing, while awesome, scares the living shit out of me. It doesn’t even look real. That first video is straight nightmare fuel.

(By the way, I don’t think I’d ever want to live in Dubai. I’m not even really sure where it is, but I don’t think it’s for me. I know it’s some sort of booming super-city with all this crazy architecture and shit; but fuck, dude: the desert is still the desert.)

Såg den här videon på Videofeber idag och blev lite illamående. Jag är inte direkt höjdrädd och när jag såg Burj Dubai från marken i mars gick det inte riktigt att ana hur högt upp det verkligen var. Först nu inträder distanshöjdskräcken. Jag har varit uppe i Empire State Building på 381 m flera gånger och i World Trade Center på 417 m tre månader innan 9/11. Men 818 m, seriöst, jag tror jag hoppar över det om jag någonsin åker tillbaks till Dubai. Bodde på 68:e våningen i Bangkok för några år sen och det var väl ok men frukosten serverades på 80:e våningen och där svajade det, vertigo! Jag tror jag håller mig till mer marknära hotell i fortsättningen.

A video tour from top of the tallest man-made structure in the world as it nears completion. Watch it at your own risk if you suffer from Acrophobia.

La torre Burj Dubai tiene una altura de 818 metros de alto, lo que la hace la construcción más alta jamás construida por el hombre, pero si están pensando en ir corriendo a visitarla les comento que se encuentra en los Emiratos Árabes y aún se encuentra en construcción así que tendrán que esperar hasta el 2 de diciembre de 2009 para poder ir a verla terminada.

Ahora imagínense estar parados justo en la cima, sentir el viento que los golpea a esa altura y además sentir como vibra la estructura.

Vean el siguiente video y sientan el vértigo.

Yo no se ustedes pero por mucha curiosidad yo no me subo.

Vínculos:

• The Top of the Burj Dubai
• Burj Dubai
• Edificios mas altos del Mundo

(YouTube)

Dieser ich schätz mal Holländer behauptet einfach er würde gerade am höchstens Punkt der Welt sein. Wenn man aus Holland kommt kommt einem das wohl so vor, dubai steht er nur auf der Spitze des Burj Dubai.

Auch ganz toll finde ich: Da bauen die das höchste Haus der Welt mit dem weitesten Ausblick und was sieht man? Rundherum nur Wüste und Baustellen

(In diesem Text versteckt sich der schlechte Wortwitz zum Sonntag)

Uno de los trabajadores cámara en mano, graba estas espectaculares imágenes.

Vía yonkis.com

Well, now there’s a video. Hmm, looks even better for base jumping…

Phallic-Head Plate, 1536 and Cucuteni Phalus representaion, 3000 BC

PHALLUS

The phallus can refer to a penis, or to anything shaped like one. The ancient Egyptians have Osiris, the Greeks have Hermes, ancient Japan have the Mara Kannon Shrine (麻羅観音) in Nagato, ancient Romans have the talismans, ancient Scandinavia the Norse god Freyr, and ancient India have Shiva -phallic structures symbolized wellness and good health in many ancient cultures, Dubai nowadays has more than one, and they should add that to the list of its achievements in the “most” highest of this, and the “most” tallest of that, the “most” hottest of this, and the “most” modern city of the world -it’s also now the “most” cluttered city with phallic symbols that will surely make the Pharaohs and the greek gods blush.

NO MAN NEEDS NOTHING

“I think you are another of these desert-loving English: Doughty, Stanhope, Gordon of Khartoum. No Arab loves the desert. We love water and green trees, there is nothing in the desert. No man needs nothing.” quoting Prince Feisal played by Alec Guinness in 1962’s Lawrence of Arabia, an epic film about a flamboyant and controversial British military figure T.E. Lawrence in Saudi Arabia. A great film by David Lean that reminds me how flamboyant the desert could be if you let the Brits use your city as a blank canvas for their architectural playground.

Besides missing the best Pakistani dish I ever had, the sprawling nightlife, and warm Dubai hospitality, having lived there for 2 years, I miss also how quickly Dubai skyline changes every time my eyes blink, it’s a “closet-gay-man’s-Disneyland-filled-with man-made-penis-buildings”. Reaching a record high 512.1m (1,680 ft) 141 storeys, Burj Dubai is the tallest building in the world now and according to EMAAR Chairman Alabbar “A human achievement without equal”, I would like to add to that Mr. Chairman… Dubai is the city of men where homosexuality is illegal and now “the most visible male genitalia in outer space” without equal (size queens!).

Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai, 1990, 2003 and present.

Burj Dubai (tallest building in the world)

Al Burj

Palm Trump Hotel in Dubai

Al Rostamini Headquarters

The Lighthouse

P-17

Anara Tower

Floating Houseboat in Dubai Marina and Dubai Opera House

Burj Al Arab and The Palm

En haut du Burj Dubai

Matinée à la plage après avoir joué au paparazzi sur les grand axes dubaiotes ! Welcome back in Dubai !

A moins d’aller dans les resorts luxueux, la mixité sociale est de mise à la plage. S’y côtoient en effet les touristes à dos de chameaux, les mécaniciens pakistanais en pause, les ouvriers du BTP en break hebdomadaire, les philippins des services … et nous
Les enfants ont appris à dire “No picture please” car certains s’en donnent à coeur joie ! Allez savoir ce que deviennent les photos quand les parents n’ont pas eu le temps d’intervenir …

Et le soir, sortie à Dubai Mall pour aller ENFIN assister au show musical et aquatique quotidien sur les bassins ! Toutes les demi-heures, spectacle grandiose sur musique variée. Les adultes et enfants en ont eu plein les yeux et Sixtine nous en demandait “Encorrrrr”. Désolée, ma puce, nous n’étions pas aux manettes ! Jolie photo au passage de The Address courtoisée par la lune !

Young adults enjoying an obscenely large game of Jenga in a wooded forest

Architect Dr. David Fisher is proposing two rotating skyscrapers. One eighty story structure is to be built in Dubai and the other, a seventy story work, is being proposed for Moscow. The buildings will be made up of prefabricated floors which will be mounted to a central core. This type of design will let the building constantly be in motion. Each floor will move independently of the others, similar to a large game of Jenga.

The building will harness solar and wind power to be one of the “greenest” developments to date. If you are worried about swinging around quickly in a storm while watching “Alf” in your apartment, don’t worry, that won’t be a problem. No matter what wind or storm conditions are like outside, it will take anywhere from (1 – 3) hours for your floor to make a complete 360 degree rotation. The structure in Dubai will be built by 2010.

Tallest Buildings Comparison

This rotating structure is not the only new piece of the “Jenga” puzzle for Dubai. For the last decade Dubai has envisioned a building spree unlike the world has ever seen. From “Project World” to the “Palm Islands” Dubai has set its sights on being the worlds Las Vegas. Not to be out done on any level, the world tallest structure, Burj Dubai, will be completed later this year, rendering my two trips up the current tallest building, Taipei 101, to silver medal status.

Ten years ago this plan looked very feasible but since the global economic slowdown, many people are not willing to make an international flight to experience great shopping and restaurants. All factors seem top be pointing that Dubai may have overestimated growth and is living on a dangerous economic bubble at the moment. As construction cranes extend across the desert landscape, finished buildings are having trouble renting corporate and retail space.

As dwindiling resources will continue to drive up travel prices, the world will actully begin to reverse its current trend of global travel. With the advent of internet conference calls and government pressure for businesses to become green, world travel in my opinion, will become less common in future decades. For places like Dubai, which require long flights for most of the clientele they are marketing these new entertainment options to, only time will tell if it will become a modern day Babylon.

It’s all happening in Dubai ….spectacular photos of last night’s storm… enjoy

When lightning hit the world’s tallest tower!

For as long as half hour lightning hit the tower and the thunder sounded

all over the neighboring areas! An unforgettable night!